Category: French (français)

Spench, spence and sbens

By Simon

Recently a friend told me that in North Wales the area under stairs is know as the spench – I hadn’t heard it before and didn’t know how to write it so this spelling is a guess. I found spench in the Urban Dictionary, which defines it as “the area under the stairs (often a cupboard) where things are stored. Used in North Wales.”

In the Geiriadur Mawr, one of my Welsh dictionaries, I found the Welsh word sbens, which is defined as “twll dan y grisiau” (a hole under the stairs) and is translated as spence.

The OED defines spence as “a room or separate place in which victuals and liquor are kept; a buttery or pantry; a cupboard.” and says that it is dialectal or archaic. It comes from the Old French word despense (to dispense), from the Latin word dispendere (to dispense, weigh out; pay out; open, spread out), from the Latin word pendere (to hang; depend; weigh out; pay) plus the prefix dis-.

Have you heard this word before, or do you have another word for the area/cupboard under the stairs?

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– un ruisseau = stream = nant = gwazh-dour
– une boîte (de conserve) = tin = tun = boestad
– un boîte de soupe = tin of soup = tun cawl = boestad soubenn
– un pot de peinture = tin of paint = tun paent = boestad livadur
– un moule à gateau = cake/baking tin = tun teisen/cacen = moull-gwestell
– un bocal = jar = jar = pod gwer
– un bonnet à pompon = bobble hat = boned-toupenn (?)
– réellement, vraiment, en fait, en réalité = actually = mewn gwirionedd = evit gwir
– une fuite = leak = diferiad, gollyngiad = fuiñ
– un poireau = leek = cenhinen = pour
– un ouvrier du bâtiment = builder (labourer) = adeiladydd = micherour
– un maçon = builder (bricklayer) = briciwr = mañsoner
– un entrepreneur (en bâtiment) = builder (owner of firm) = tisaver

Downies, duvets and slumberdowns

By Simon

While listening to a programme on Radio Scotland today I heard mention of downies, which seems to be a Scottish word for duvet. These days I usually call these things duvets, but when I was a child I had a slumberdown, which I think might be a trade name. I’ve also heard them called quilts or continental quilts, and think they’re called comforters in the USA.

The definition of duvet in the OED is “A quilt stuffed with eider-down or swan’s-down”, and it comes from the French word duvet (down), from dumet, a diminutive of Old French dum (down).

What do you call these things?

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– la déviation = diversion (of route) = dargyfeiriad = diroudennañ
– la diversion = diversion (distraction) = gwrthdyniad = distroadenn
– faire diversion = to create a diversion = creu gwrthdyniad = distroiñ an nen
– le meeting / rassemblement = rally = rali = bodadeg
– un meeting de prostestation = a protest rally = rali protest / gwrthdystiad = manifestadeg
– un rassemblement pour la paix = a peace rally = rali heddwch
– la ceinture de sauvetage = liftbelt = gwregys achub
– sauter à cloche-pied = to hop = hercian / hopian
– le trisaïeul = great-great-grandfather = hen hen daid/dad-cu
– la trisaïeule = great-great-grandmother = hen hen nain/mamgu
– la boulette de viande = meatball = pellen gig (?)

Tête en l’air

By Simon

Penn-skañv ac’hanout? Es-tu tête en l’air? Is your head in the clouds?

Recently I came across the French expression (être) tête en l’air (‘(to be) head in the air’) which is given as the French equivalent of the Breton expression penn-skañv (‘light head’). I hadn’t seen it before and wasn’t quite sure from it meant. From the context I thought it meant something like forgetful. According to Reverso it means scatterbrained, and according to this discussion, it also means absent-minded or distracted.

An equivalent English idiom is to have one’s head in the clouds, which is also used in French – avoir la tête dans les nuages. Do you know any similar idioms in English, French or other languages?

The Welsh expression pen-ysgafn, which is a literal translation of the Breton expression, but has a related different meaning – ‘light headed’. Forgetful is anghofus in Welsh.

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– fossile = fossil = ffosil = karrekaenn
– contractuel = traffic warden = warden traffig
– Viking = Viking = Llychlynnwr / Ficing = Idem
– le drakkar / bateau viking = viking ship = llong/cwch llychlynnwr = drakkar
– la lacune = loophole (in law) = bwlch = toull
– la niche fiscale = tax loophole = bwlch treth
– combler une lacune = to close a loophole = cau bwlch
– l’échappatoire (f) = way out, excuse, loophole = allanfa, esgus, bwlch
– le feu (de jardin) = bonfire = coelcerth = tan
– le passage pour piétons = pedestrian crossing = croesfan gerddwyr = treuzenn kerzhourien
– le passage à niveau = level crossing = croesfan wastad = treuzenn hent-houarn
– le rayon de soleil = sunbeam = pelydryn haul = barr-heol

Brezhoneg

By Simon

My Breton studies are progressing and so far I’ve learnt a bit more everyday. Last week I worked through the first five lessons of my textbook (Le Breton, par Assimil) and today I got to the seventh lesson, which summerises what you’re learnt in the previous six lessons. The lessons are all short and don’t overload you with new information, as is often the case with other courses I’ve used. In courses with longer lessons you can go through each lesson over several days, but I prefer the shorter Assimil lessons.

The more Breton I learn, the more similarities I find with Welsh. For example, there are only five irregular verbs in Breton, as there are in Welsh, and Breton word order is similar to Welsh – you put the most important piece of information at the beginning of the sentence.

These sentences all mean the same thing, “The weather is fine in Ploulann today”, but with different emphasis in each:

– Brav eo an amzer e Ploulann hiziv = Braf ydy’r tywydd yn Ploulann heddiw = The weather is fine …

– An amzer a zo brav e Ploulann hiziv = Mae’r tywydd yn braf yn Ploulann heddiw = The weather is fine …

– E Ploulann eo brav an amzer hiziv = Yn Ploulann mae’r tywydd yn braf heddiw = The weather is fine in Ploulann …

– Hiziv eo brav an amzer e Ploulann = Heddiw mae’r tywydd yn braf yn Ploulann = The weather is fine in Ploulann today.

As the textbook is in French I’m also learning some new French words like:

– la tournure = turn of phrase, form, e.g. la tournure de qch = the way sth is developing; la tournure des événements = the turn of events; la tournure d’esprit = frame of mind

I’ve started working on the script for a Breton animation entitled “Pelec’h emañ Erwan?” (Where is Erwan?) – a thrilling adventure in search of the ever elusive Erwan.

Handles, sleeves, tails and legs

By Simon

Yesterday I discovered that there are quite a few different words for handle in French, depending on what kind of handle you’re referring to:

– poignée /pwa.ɲe/ is a door handle or the handle on the lid of something. It also means handful, as in une poignée de sel (a handful of salt) or Ils n’étaient qu’une poignée (There were only a handful of them). In can also refer to love handles (poignée d’amour) and a break handle (poignée de frein). [source]. It comes from poing /pwɛ̃/ (fist), from the Latin pugnus (fist) [source].

– anse /ɑ̃s/ is the handle of a cup, or a cove, and comes from the Latin ansa (handle, tiller).

The Welsh equivalents are dolen (bow, handle, link, loop, ear, noose) and trontol (handle).

– manche /mɑ̃ʃ/ is the handle of a tool or a saucepan, and also a sleeve, or neck (of a violin or guitar).

The Welsh equivalents are coes (leg, stalk, handle) and carn (hoof, hilt, handle).

– queue /kø/ = is the handle of a frying pan, and also a tail, stalk and queue (line of people). It comes from the Latin word coda, a variant of cauda (tail) [source].

Are handles metaphorically linked to the same words in other languages?

Les mot de la semaine

By Simon

– la voie = lane (on road) = lôn = hent
– le chemin = (country) lane = lôn = hent
– la ruelle = lane (in town) = lôn = hent
– le couloir = lane (in race) = lôn = hent
– aléatoire = random (selection) = hap = ankivil, chañs
– au hasard = at random = ar antur, ar siawns, ar hap = en avantur
– le cantique = hymn = emyn, hymn = kantik
– le bocal = (glass) jar = jar = pod-gwer
– le pot = (jam/honey) jar = jar = pod
– le verre = tumbler, glass = gwydr = gwer
– la chope = tankard = mwg cwrw, tancard = chop bier
– le couvercle = lid = clawr, caead = golo, goulc’her
– la poignée = (door) handle = handlen = brec’h
– l’anse (f) = (cup) handle = dolen, trontol = dourgenn
– le manche (knife, spade, broom) handle = coes, carn = troad
– la queue = (saucepan) handle = coes